I had a dream that I was beneath this beautiful field of golden flowers. I could hear joyful laughter of those that were walking in this field. I was attempting to climb to get to the field, but I could not. I could just peek into the golden field beyond my reach and hear the joyful laughter in the distance. The Lord walked up to me and asked “Why have you lost your faith now?” When I awoke from this dream I wept, selfishly I wanted to stay in that beautiful field with the Lord. I felt sad that He had asked me that question, even in my sleep I felt ashamed that I had lost my faith after so many lessons and blessings.
I had struggled yet one more day looking around me for my answer...the key that would lead me back to faith. I put the thoughts of the dream aside and decided to distract my heavy heart with errands. As I drove by my favorite nursery I stopped to buy some cut flowers. I glanced over at the wide array of perennials and annuals and noticed the same flower that I had seen in my dream, only there had been a field of these golden flowers. I asked the lady who owns the nursery about the plant. She said that the name of the plant was Celosia. I bought one and placed it by my front door comforting my soul that it would lead me to an answer what my dream had meant.
Later I did some research on the name of the plant. I learned that the Botanical name is Celosia, the common name is Cockscomb but the religious name is Jesus Plant. When I read that my heart stood still, in my dream Jesus had been standing in a field of Celosia. I read further in my research that Celosia comes from the Greek word Kelos, meaning burned. I thought about all the Biblical references about being burned as it relates to going through a trial. I also read a description about Celosia in another article: “Great for a biblical garden, as it is named after the Prince himself, Jesus. Very easy to grow, first scatter the seeds, they sprout when it gets hot.”
The symbolism was loud and clear, the dream had caught my interest, and the prayer I had prayed was being answered. I felt comforted knowing that these signs were leading me slowly to finding my way back to faith. Then I found a poem that made me see that I had been choosing to dwell on the gloom and not on the promise:
One Day At A Time
Just for one day I will promise
To see God’s love in all things,
In the calm, the joy, and the peaceful
In the burden, the pain and the sting.
I will look to His love in the moonlight
In the wave of each swaying branch,
In each breath, in each step, in each moment
I will pause to my Lord and give thanks.
Though the turbulent waters surround me
I’ll be still as a calm peaceful lake,
For if He is in charge of this temple
Then the outcome to all will be great.
So with my new mind I’ll sing praises
And release alleluia’s sincere,
For if God and I are this temple,
Then the outcome to all will be clear.
So do not sway for a moment
When dark clouds are somber and gray,
Just look to the sunshine beyond them
And just let the Lord have His way.
Chris Zambernard
Funny, but the name of the devotional that I write is called One Day At A Time, prior to the dream I had never read this poem. I had listened to the song One Day At A Time, and have it playing on My Devotional web site, but I had never known about this poem. For the first time since I had that dream, I no longer wished that I had remained there in that garden. I knew now that we can have that dream on earth. When we look at the gloom all around us and fall beneath the fields of gold we cannot be blessed with joy. We walk through golden fields of heaven and laugh in joyful song when we have Faith in God. It is with the renewing of our mind that we build up our faith. We must keep things in perspective and focus more on the good, renewing our mind with the Word of God. As we focus on the good in our lives and remember all the times that our lives were blessed, we walk in Joy with the Lord through the golden fields. After renewing my mind in meditation and spending time in God’s Word I found my joy. I remembered how to get back to Faith, my faith returned the minute I started thanking God, I remembered to Trust that He always has a purpose for our trials. I remembered that God loves us and He only wants His best for our lives.
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